The fact that the Hopituh, the “peaceful ones,” went to war with the Spanish shows what an impact the outsiders had on them. The first explorers to reach the Hopi were two of Francisco Vasquez de Coronado’s men, Pedro de Tobar and Juan de Padilla, in 1540. The Hopi let these two Franciscan priests and their soldiers stay with them for several days. The Spanish learned of the existence of the Grand Canyon at this time.
A Hopi woman with the squash-blossom hairdo, a symbol of maturity and readiness for marriage
Another Spanish explorer, Antonio de Espejo, visited the Hopi in 1583. Then Juan de Onate followed with many more men in 1598. He made the Hopi swear allegiance to the Spanish Crown. The first missionaries settled in Hopiland in 1629, and more were to follow.
Because of the Spanish soldiers, the Hopi were forced to tolerate the new religion among them. But they continued to practice their traditional beliefs. When the Spanish tried to eliminate all kachina worship, the normally peaceful Hopi rebelled. They joined the Rio Grande pueblos in the Pueblo Rebellion of 1680 and destroyed the missions in their midst. At that period in their history, the Hopi established new pueblos that were easier to defend. The Spanish reconquered the Rio Grande pueblos, starting in 1689, but they did not push westward to the Hopi pueblos. The Hopi remained free to practice their own religion. Some Tewa Indians from the Rio Grande pueblos fled to Hopiland at this time to start a new life.
World History
